1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape unit to be housed in a tape cassette to be applied to a tape printer for manufacturing a tape with characters which is used being affixed on the back of a video cassette, etc., in particular, it relates to a tape unit which is reloadable on a tape cassette and which can be properly reloaded on a tape cassette main body without mistaking a tape unit to be reloaded for a wrong one in the case of reloading of a tape unit.
2. Description of Related art
Concerning tape cassettes to be used for a tape printer, it is desirable to use different tapes having different tape widths or tape colors. Therefore, a plurality of kinds of tape cassettes have been prepared corresponding to the tapes having a plurality of kinds of tape widths or tape colors. Tapes to be housed in tape cassettes are wound in roll shapes, respectively. A tape has a lamination structure of four layers: a thermosensitive agent layer which can be colored by the heat of a thermal head is formed on a surface of a tape base and on the other surface of the tape base, a releasable paper is placed through an adhesive agent layer. In order to manufacture a tape with characters using such a tape, a part of the roll-shaped tape is pulled out until it reaches a thermal head and heat control is performed selectively by the thermal head on the side of the thermosensitive agent layer and a tape with characters is manufactured, the tape which has characters, etc. formed by coloring on the thermosensitive agent layer.
In the case of such conventional tape cassettes, no consideration is given to the rehousing of a new tape to a cassette case when a tape is used up and, therefore, when a housed tape is used up, the cassette case itself loses its use value and is discarded.
In the case of a conventional tape cassette, even when a tape housed in the tape cassette is used up, the cassette case itself is still worthy for use and, therefore, it is a waste to discard the cassette case simply because of the reason why a tape housed in the tape cassette is used up and also it is a cause to raise the cost in manufacturing tapes. Moreover, in recent years the protection of environment is called for from a social point of view, and when it is considered that, generally, cassette cases are made of resin such as plastic, there is much fear that discarded cassette cases may cause a result against the protection of environment if a cassette case is discarded every time a tape housed in it is used up, which does not meet the tendency of the time.